VP, Merchandising, Outlet
NY - 11 West 19th
JOB SUMMARY
The VP of Global Outlet Merchandising is the leader of product strategy, assortment creation and brand growth. The role is responsible for the development of merchandising strategies that balance brand vision, trend and business drivers. This position sets the product line plan vision and leads the line planning process in order to achieve or exceed annual financial goals globally. This role fosters exceptionally strong cross functional relationships across Design, Product Development, Buying and Retail to deliver results. This position requires a strong executive presence and ability to influence across all levels of the organization. This role will necessitate strong leadership skills and a proven ability to motivate a team and drive results.
JOB DESCRIPTION
Key Responsibilities
Lead creation of Seasonal Global Merchandising strategies and line plans for all geographies and business units.
Create strategic Long Range Plan for Outlet product that delivers financial targets and uphold brand positioning.
Ability to lead key stakeholders; influence and drive to consensus across all short and long range merchandising strategies.
Create product development calendar and ensure adherence to critical deadlines.
Bring customer and market prospective to the design and product development process.
Ability to utilize sales history, market information and brand filters to influence product POV during development process.
Ensure the successful implementation of merchandising strategies through strong collaboration with the Design, PD, Buying, Retail, Marketing & Visual Merchandising.
Collaborate with design and product development partners to meet costing targets on all products developed seasonally without compromising quality.
Manage KPI tracking with PD and Partner with Corporate Merchandise Planning (CMP) on Market and Seasonal Hindsight’s.
Provide marketing, DTC and Sales teams with product knowledge and serve as an informational resource.
Partner with Marketing and Visual on Seasonal Strategies to ensure product priorities are effectively communicated to the end consumer.
Strong command of analyzing sales and market trends and applying them to assortment building to capitalize on opportunities, fueling growth.
Merchandising
Build the brand’s point of view for the Outlet channel that meets all global needs.
Build and grow the business; identify and seek opportunities to positively affect category/company.
Create, implement, and oversee continued evolution of strategies, remaining adaptable as team reacts to business needs and trends.
Lead the merchandising process. Work with Design and Merchandising team to edit the assortment by commodity, by month, by color ensuring all markets needs are met.
Drive category alignment with calendar to meet key timelines.
Protect development of key fashion trends in the collection based on competitive landscape and department history.
Recap the business Weekly and Monthly and relay key insights. Apply current trends in business to future on order.
Clearly hindsight the prior season to ensure critical learnings are captured and applied to future season development.
Oversee execution of the line plan and ensure we stay true to the line plan throughout the process.
Develop and maintain consistency of vision for category across channels of business and regions.
Continuously seek deep competitor insight and trend prediction of category.
Identify and pursue creative new ventures for the category and business.
Work with internal teams to understand needs and growth opportunities related to category.
Oversee Market Week and SMS sign off meetings.
Understand international implications for category.
Create a good- better- best retail pricing strategy by country.
Financial
Determine and drive the strategic focus for Outlet Globally. Identify areas to grow, maintain or downtrend based on performance.
Analyze how merchandising decisions and results impact earnings. Assess and respond to seasonal, yearly and strategic trends.
Possess a clear understanding of gross margin return on investment; analyze and recommend pricing strategies to impact it.
Monitor category development metrics to ensure category stays within budget.
Own annual development budget based on historical performance and line plan initiatives.
Cross-functional Partnership
Manage cross-functional team relationships on an on-going basis by providing direction on vision, strategy, and meetings to unify team toward a common goal for Outlet.
Partner closely with the Buying team to ensure the collection will meet or exceed all business plans.
Work in close partnership with Buying team to make sure all field and customer insights are captured and applied to inform future season development.
Partner with other Merchandising leaders to create consistency of product assortments, messaging and processes.
Partner with Design and PD to build a compelling Color, Concept and Assortment for the category each season.
Serve as the representative of the division as needed within the company.
Work with Design on product growth strategies and communicate to Production and PD.
Partner with Design, PD and Production to continuously improve our quality and fit.
Work with production team to ensure timely product delivery each season.
Work with sourcing team to strategically analyze vendor base to best support future business needs.
Partner with Marketing and Visual to ensure alignment in functions and clear and compelling category story pull through.
Leadership and People Management
Consistently models Buddy values.
Promote an environment that fosters respect for the ideas of others and supports ongoing collaboration to execute business strategies; measures own success by the team’s success.
Leads by example and operates effectively in the face of continuous pressure.
Provide leadership within the merchandising team by directing, focusing, and motivating team members.
Monitor development and performance of direct reports through regular meetings to discuss performance and development compared to goals; maintain a dialogue regarding their needs and concerns to aid in future development to foster retention.
Effectively manage and support the career development process of direct reports.
Continuously drives to innovate and improve our business and business processes.
Minimum Qualifications
12+ years Merchandising experience.
5+ years of experience managing teams.
Previous experience in Global Merchandising (having directly worked with Design & Product Development is strongly preferred).
Bachelor’s degree in Merchandising or equivalent.
Executive presence with ability to present and influence C-Suite level executives including Brand founder and CEO.
Strong product sense with proven experience in driving product assortments and partnering with Design to conceive product assortments that drive business
Strategic thinker who recognizes opportunities and can influence decision makers to move to execution.
Strong problem solving, interpersonal and organizational skills
High level of analytical skills and conceptual creative ability.
Excellent written/verbal communication and presentation skills.
Global perspective with International market experience a plus.
Ability and willingness to travel when necessary.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
Tory Burch LLC is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and provides equal opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to an individual’s age, race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex (including pregnancy) or sexual orientation, gender expression, military status, marital status, genetic predisposition or carrier status, disability or membership in any other protected class under applicable law. Likewise, we will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring, Ordinance No. 184652. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment.
Disability Accommodation
Tory Burch is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees with disabilities. Please tell us if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job or to perform your job. Examples of reasonable accommodation include making a change to the application process or work procedures, providing documents in an alternate format, using a sign language interpreter, or using specialized equipment. If you require assistance or an accommodation with the hiring process, please contact talent@toryburch.com.